The University of Colorado regents will vote Wednesday on a resolution that celebrates the 1938-42 basketball squad, coached by Forrest "Frosty" Cox.

Historical highlights from CU men's basketball seasons

During his time as head coach, Forrest "Frosty" Cox led the team to two National Invitational Tournaments and three NCAA tournaments.

The 1937-38 team appeared in the NIT, reaching the finals.

The 1938-39 team went 14-4 and were conference champs.

The 1939-40 team won the NIT (then called the Metropolitan Invitational), which was considered much bigger than the NCAA tourney at the time. CU beat DePaul (52-37) and Duquesne (51-40) to win the title.

The 1941-42 team was one of eight schools selected to play in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the Final Four.

From 1938-42, CU produced four All Americans: Jack Harvey; Jim Willcoxon; Robert Doll; and Leason McCloud.

Source: University of Colorado

In 1939, a basketball coach who was heralded as being one of the nation's "greatest hardwood tutors" recruited Robert Kirchner to play guard for the University of Colorado.

Despite growing up just 26 miles from Kansas University, Kirchner answered coach Forrest "Frosty" Cox's call and came to Boulder to play for CU's squad. Kirchner, 90, is among the kings of the court who go down in CU's hoops history for playing during the glory years under coach Cox.

"He brought a lot of Kansas boys to CU to play," Kirchner said. "We may have had more Kansas boys than KU had when we beat them in 1942."

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The CU regents will vote Wednesday on a resolution that celebrates the 1938-42 basketball squad, and Kirchner -- who now lives in Highlands Ranch and continues to cheer for the Buffs -- is planning to attend the ceremony.

CU's basketball team won the National Invitational Tournament in New York City in 1940 before former CU President Robert Stearns halted intercollegiate basketball competition in 1942 because of World War II.

Four All Americans played on CU's basketball team from 1938-42: Jack Harvey; Jim Willcoxon; Leason McCloud; and Robert Doll, who went on to play for the Boston Celtics. The CU basketball team won the Metropolitan Invitational -- now known as the NIT -- in New York City in 1940, beating DePaul and Duquesne to win the title.

"The NIT that was held in New York was the premiere tournament, and the Colorado team won the tournament," said CU Regent Jim Geddes, R-Sedalia, who is sponsoring the resolution. "In actuality, we can claim to be the national champions by winning that tournament."

Geddes, chairman of the regents' athletics committee, honors the players of the 1938-42 team in his resolution, saying they emerged as a national power under coach Cox.

Cox, who is now deceased, coached CU from 1935 to 1950 and held a record of 147 wins and 89 losses, the third-most coaching wins in CU men's basketball history.

In an interview, Kirchner described Cox as leading with a positive coaching style.

"He was a fierce competitor," Kirchner recalled. "He talked fundamentals clear through the season, and we'd condition and scrimmage for long periods of time. We were in better shape than our opponents."

Dave Plati, spokesman for CU athletics, said the school is designing its Hall of Fame display now that the basketball and volleyball practice building is complete.

The CU Heritage Museum -- housed in the Old Main building -- has a display and archived photos featuring the basketball team in its 1940s section of the sports exhibit. Patty Kuster, of the museum, said former CU players frequently return to the campus and visit the exhibit, as do their children and grandchildren.

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